2018 NY Boys XC Preview: PSAL



PSAL Preview

New York State XC Season Guide - 2018

2018 Season Overview for the PSAL

Replay

Midwood entered the 2017 season with the best ratings of a group of five teams at the top of the PSAL, but in the end it all came down to a head-to-head battle between Staten Island champ Susan Wagner and Brooklyn Tech. The Falcons had four guys in the top 12 with Sean Acosta, William Cuthbertson, Mahmoud Abdalla, and Christophe Hernandez, and that was enough to score a 58-68  win over the Engineers, who were led by PSAL champ Evan Sherman and 4th place finisher Robert Straight. Brooklyn Technical did get it all together for Feds though, as its 17th place finish was the first time since 2011 that a PSAL team did better than 22nd. In 2011, Konrad Surkont in 6th place led Stuyvesant to an amazing 11th place.

Sherman finished two seconds ahead of Midwood's Ermiyas Harper, and Riverdale-Kingsbridge's Jacob Ireland was about another seven seconds back in 3rd. The PSAL field was one of the deepest in many years as 32 guys broke 18:00 and 22 had speed ratings over 150 TR. Harper went on to a 17th place in Federations, one place better than McKee Tech's Mohamed Aziz got back in 2013 and the best place by a PSAL runner since Stuyvesant's Jack Stevenson took 11th in 2011. 

Teams

The top six guys from the 2017 PSAL team championship race plus the winner of the PSAL Individual championship race are returning this year, so the conference will have a lot of talent at the top. The issue for reigning champ Susan Wagner is that only junior Sean Acosta returns from the Falcon's strong top quartet from last year. With a lot of rebuilding to do, Wagner starts the year rated 4th among the PSAL teams.

Brooklyn Tech has its top 5 back after its 2nd place finish in the PSAL in 2017, and that makes the Engineers a decided favorite entering the season. Evan Sherman and Robert Straight lead BTech's strong and deep team, which will be looking for its first championship since 2014.

Two other teams that could challenge this year with maybe an infusion of new guys are Midwood and Bronx Science. The Hornets ran second to Brooklyn Tech in the PSAL boro championship in 2017, but it has the conference's top rated returning runner with Ermiyas Harper, and he has fellow senior Demian Lofnes Scott to build a great top 2 for Midwood. Bronx Science was boro champ last year and will be depending on the development of last year's nearly intact young team to carry the Wolverines to the top.

Individuals

Evan Sherman was the PSAL champ last year, and Ermiyas Harper finished as the top rated runner off of his great performance at Feds. But also in the hunt are the rest of the guys from the 2017 PSAL top 6 -- Jacob Ireland, Robert Straight, Demian Lofnes Scott, and Sean Acosta. Although he ran in the separate PSAL Individual championship last year, Beacon School's Jack Craven also has to be counted among the PSAL's top guys.



Brooklyn Tech's Evan Sherman was the top runner in the 2017 PSAL championship.

Top 5 Teams at 2017 PSAL Championship





1. Susan Wagner 582. Brooklyn Tech 683. Bronx Science 1084. Midwood 1305. HS Math, Science 200
Projected Top 7 Teams for 2018 from Returners' 2017 TR Ratings





1. Brooklyn Tech 157.62. Midwood 147.63. Bronx Science 146.84. Susan Wagner 141.45. Riverdale-Kingsbridge 139.2





6. HS Math, Science 130.27. Stuyvesant 127.8





Ermiyas Harper of Midwood at far right had Brooklyn Tech's Evan Sherman one step behind him going up the hill in the Federation meet, and Harper charged home for a 15th place finish.

Top 2018 Returning Runners by Last Year's TR Rating
Name Team GradeSection PSAL Place Season TR
Ermiyas HarperMidwood12Brooklyn2175
Evan ShermanBrooklyn Tech12Brooklyn1173
Jacob IrelandRiverdale-Kingsbridge11Bronx3168
Robert StraightBrooklyn Tech12Brooklyn4165
Jack CravenBeacon School12Manhattan1 (indiv.)164
Demian Lofnes-ScottMidwood12Brooklyn5162
Sean AcostaSusan Wagner11Staten Island6159
Isaac StamperBrooklyn Tech12Brooklyn18157
Jesusalber FernandezRiverdale-Kingsbridge12Bronx14156
Nathaniel LentzBronx Science12Bronx14154
William WadeBronx Science12Bronx15150
Baird JohnsonStuyvesant11Manhattan21150
Dylan CanalesBrooklyn Tech11Brooklyn19148
Jorge ChavarriaJohn F. Kennedy11Bronx30147
Itmar PresBronx Science10Bronx24146
Sawyer CooperBronx Science11Bronx23146



Jack Craven of the Beacon School was the champion of the PSAL Individual race.





Teams by Rank

1 - 2 - 3 - 4

5 - 6 - 7